Why Do I Blog?

My blog is going to celebrate its fifth anniversary pretty soon, and I am still sticking with it. Sometimes I ask myself, Why do I dedicate so much time and energy to it? I am not making money on my blog, nor I am interested in making my blog a real business. I am not a crafter who whips up amazing crafts. I am not a teacher, so I cannot claim authority over educational subjects. But I am a Mom. I am an expert in my unique child. When I come online to do research, I am very interested in input from “regular people” like me – parents and caregivers of gifted students who want to enrich their children’s education with activities that stretch their abilities and engage their minds and bodies. This is why I am here, and this is why I enjoy talking to other kid bloggers online and this is why I am interested in sharing what works for us.

A Blog Year in Review

This year was divided into two parts for me. In the first half I was too busy with work to blog consistently. I was also unsure where I wanted to take my blog, what I wanted to write about, and even whether I wanted to continue with it.
In the second half, I had some changes at work that gave me more time to spend on my blogging hobby. I joined Kid Blogger Network and learned a lot about how to be a better blogger. Part of a joy of blogging is in making new friends and engaging readers, and I am glad to see my readership grow and hoping that people find some of the resources I share useful in their homes and afterschool programs. I am looking forward to the next year and to sharing more ideas about raising gifted learners with all of you.

2. Writing

My daughter was always a reluctant writer, but she is doing much better this year. We try to incorporate writing in our daily life and in the games we play. Many readers are looking for ideas to encourage writing, and my most popular post of the year was the post I wrote just a couple of weeks ago when I partnered with 9 other fantastic hosts of After School Link Up to bring you Top Writing Activities for After School.

3. Math

We are very passionate about math in the house and have a difficult time at the moment as the math curriculum of second grade leaves our daughter bored and seems to be turning off her interest in math. We are considering various ways to challenge her more at home in fun ways, such as Math Squares. At some point, however, I wrote a post about what we did when Smarty was in preschool. Teach Your Preschooler About Money is relatively new, but I think overtime it might become one of my most popular posts.

4. Science

Oh, science, how I wish we had more time for you! More science happens during holiday and vacation times. I put some of our favorite science experiments and science books into a round up which resulted in the most pinned post of the year – Science Experiments and Science Books for K-3.

5. Social Studies

We incorporate both geography and history through reading and discussions at home, but in summer we had time for a more in-depth unit study on China and even made our one and only lapbook for this year. I had a series of posts on that unit study, and want to share the post that could use more love – China Lapbook: Second Grade.

6. Play

Life would be unbearable with no time for play. We love playing board games as a family, and I shared our favorite games twice this year. My holiday gift guide of Board Games for Brainy Kids is both popular and loved by me!

7. Cooking With Kids

I love that my 7 year old becomes a real helper in the kitchen and want to make it a priority to make a meal or bake together every weekend. I love participating in Around the World in 12 Dishes project with other bloggers – it expands our recipe collection and gives us a chance to learn a thing or two about other countries. My favorite cooking post from this year is Cooking With Kids: Jamaican Fried Fish.

8. Screen Time

I think there is not a single child out there who has no screen time these days. We radically limit screen time at home, but daughter loves spending her 30 minutes a day playing on the computer. I shared our favorite sites in another post that got, unfortunately, little traction so far: A Digital Trap or a Digital Gift?

9. Raising Multi-Cultural Children

It’s extremely important for me to raise a child who is a citizen of the world, not just an American citizen. Both my husband and I came to America as adults, and we would like our daughter to appreciate her heritage and be respectful of other traditions as well. One of my favorite post this year is Christmas in Russia written for Multicultural Kid Bloggers series Christmas in Different Lands. It also features a great homemade gift we did as a family for my parents.

10. Creative Challenges

Well, it’s post #10, and we still didn’t make it to an obligatory “arts and crafts” section. That’s because we don’t do a lot of crafts at home. Our free time is spent on playing games, being outside, and reading. But as our daughter grows older and becomes more competent, I am looking forward to giving her more creative challenges like this Build a Boat.

More Resources

I am very excited to share The Very Best Kids Activities of 2013 by the Kid Blogger Network blog hop that is going live on January 2. Kid bloggers, big and small, will share their ONE best post from 2013. I can’t wait to check out their entries for more entertaining ideas.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Below you'll find over 50 Kid Blogger Network members coming together for The KBN Best Of 2013 Blog Hop. We know you'll find tons of wonderful ideas to browse, pin and share. We'd love for you to join the blog hop and share your favorite activity of 2013 too, and make sure you're following the Kid Blogger Network on Pinterest.

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Copyright notice

You are welcome to use any ideas from my blog for your own personal use. You may not use my pictures without permission. If you blog about something that you have learned here, I will appreciate linking back to my blog. May the Force be with you!